Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

I am pleased to announce today, the release of a new language resource for students.  The title of the project is: Start Here! Grammatical Foundations for Students of New Testament Greek (A Student-Friendly Video Series) . As the title suggests, this resource is video-oriented.  It is divided up into 6 main lessons and contains around 5+ hours of grammatical instruction (see image to the left - click an image to enlarge it).  Each lesson consists of a number of short, user-friendly / student-friendly videos and takes note of nearly 200 grammatical concepts that English learners / speakers who want to venture into learning Koine Greek should find helpful.  The videos are available for purchase ($80)  HERE .  Once the purchase has been confirmed, buyers will be sent a download link.  I hope that these videos will assuage some of the fears that students, especially beginners, have when journeying into learning Koine Greek.

Recently I had an opportunity to sit down with a friend and colleague, J. Klay Harrison, to discuss the newly launched (International) Ancient Greek Honor Society. The name of the society is Gamma Rho Kappa ( GRK ; see the logo to the left).  In the interview we discuss the purpose of GRK among other things.  You can listen to it for free HERE (scroll to the bottom of the page to download it for FREE).  You can also learn more about GRK and read some relevant documents HERE .  Chapters are already forming in academic institutions.  Why not bring a GRK chapter to your school?  Download the audio and click the above link to learn how.

I just got word that my second paper (which is the limit for presenters) was accepted for the 2014 annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting in San Diego. This paper will be presented in the "Applied Linguistics for Biblical Studies" section and is titled "Setting Students Up To Fail Biblical Languages: An Assessment of Assessment." My other paper, which was accepted in the Global Education & Resource Technology section, is titled "ἡ καινὴ σχολή· Communicating Ancient Greek Via Modern Technologies." The Greek here (ἡ καινὴ σχολή) means "The New School," which is actually how it will appear in the SBL program because their platform, interestingly enough, is not able to handle Greek characters. Anyway, this is good news and I look forward to participating in both of these fine sections!

Hello friends, I am pleased today to announce the release of my newest book, co-authored with Dr. Fred Long, titled Speak Koine Greek: A Conversational Phrasebook .   Speak Koine Greek contains over 240 sayings, expressions, phrases, idioms, and figures of speech from ancient (Koine) Greek. This work has been strategically arranged into simple categories (Getting in the Conversation, Staying in the Conversation, Ending the Conversation) with each entry ordered alphabetically by English glosses and followed by both a phrase that is similar or comparable in Koine as well as a source citation. Speak Koine Greek is a user-friendly compilation of expressions meant to help learners progress in fluency and knowledge of Koine while having fun doing so. You can purchase the book on Amazon.com HERE or HERE .  As a further add-on, companion audio files for this book are available for purchase and download at the GlossaHouse website HERE . Here are a couple of blurbs from the bac...

I'm pleased to announce today that my newest book, Ποῦ Οἱ Σταφυλῖνοι  Εἰσιν; ( Where Are The Carrots? ) is on sale for $7.65 HERE at Amazon.com .  Ποῦ Οἱ Σταφυλῖνοι  Εἰσιν; is a short story written in Koine Greek by Dr. T. Michael W. Halcomb and some of his family members. The story revolves around two horses and their missing carrots. Where did the carrots go? Did someone take them? Read and/or listen this fun tale to find out! This is the first story in the new διήγημα ἐν τῇ Κοινή διαλέκτῳ ( A Story in Koine ) series, which is part of the "Conversational Track" in GlossaHouse's "AGROS" curriculum suite.  In addition to the print version of the book a listen-along audio file is also available for purchase below.  The audio file contains a 6-year old female child  reading the story and also an adult male reading the story.   In addition, there is a watch-along video (in an animated flip-book/page-turn style) of the book available fo...

A FREE dramatic audio recording of Genesis 1:1-5 in Koine Greek has been posted over at the Conversational Koine Institute .  Check it out and even download it.  While you're there, have a look around the site and come learn to speak biblical Greek with us!

Here's a humorous little video, playing off of the popular "Hitler freakout" meme that's been floating around for a while, about the demise of the Erasmian pronunciation. Enjoy and then check out the Conversational Koine Institute .

Today I'm pleased to announce that registration for the Greek 1 class (Fall 2013) with the Conversational Koine Institue is now open to all. Check out the flyer below for more details. You can get more details on classes HERE and inquire about or register for classes HERE . Feel free to download (but not modify), print and/or share the flyer with others.

Dear friends, I am pleased today to announce the release of my sixth book which is titled 800 Words and Images: A New Testament Greek Vocabulary Builder . Along with audio companion files, this work was printed in color with  GlossaHouse  and is perfect for anyone wanting to build their New Testament Greek vocabulary.  The book has received a number of good reviews already, including one from Bill Mounce , who says the following: "All language teachers know that a key to learning vocabulary is to use as many of our senses as possible. 800 Words and Images succeeds at using visual and auditory as well as semantic grouping to help students master their Koine vocabulary. I heartily salute this project."  William Mounce , Ph.D. -  BiblicalTraining.org You can get your print copy HERE right now.  The audio files are available HERE .  A digital version for Kindle is in the works and I'll post on it when it becomes available.  But if you woul...

Hello everyone, I wanted to share the news with you today that a new biblical/theological and ancient languages publisher, GlossaHouse, has officially launched its website. GlossaHouse states that it has the "vision of creating innovative Greek resources to help students and researchers advance in the language." Right now, the focus is Greek resources, particularly the AGROS series, but GlossaHouse is open to publishing resources for other languages. You can read about GlossaHouse, its current resources, and get in touch with the publisher at www.GlossaHouse.com . In addition, I'd like to mention that GlossaHouse has started the first ever Ancient Greek Honor Society, which is known as ΓΡΚ (Gamma Rho Kappa). Again, check this and more out at www.GlossaHouse.com .

Today, I am very pleased to announce the formal partnership between Asbury Theological Seminary & the Conversational Koine Institute.  The partnership is built around the development of a Greek Certificate Program.  This means that those who participate in and complete the Conversational Koine Institute's curriculum and "opt in" for the "Greek Certificate Track" can receive an official certificate from CKI and ATS.  In addition to all of the learning, there are several added benefits such as the possibility of receiving "Advanced Standing" for acceptance into one of Asbury's Masters Degree programs.  You can find out more about the Greek Certificate Program HERE  and via the flyer below.

Today the Conversational Koine Institute launched its "Bring CKI To You" initiative.  Essentially, this initiative allows individuals, groups, or institutions to bring the Conversational Koine Institute to them. Put differently, you no longer have to wait until the next semester begins or until the next immersion workshop occurs to "Get Greek!" CKI can work with you and your calendar. You can learn more about the initiative by click HERE .

Check out this silly comic short that I recently made. Oh, and if you want to learn biblical Greek / Koine Greek online, then the Conversational Koine Institute is the place to do it. Check out the website and register for upcoming events and classes at www.ConversationalKoine.com .

Today, my local city/county newspaper published a very nice, full-page interview about the Conversational Koine Institute.  The online version, which I assume most of you will read, seems small in comparison to the actual print version but in my view both are very nice and I'm thankful to have had this opportunity.  You can check out the online interview HERE (photo taken from the newspaper's website).  Thanks again, to the Jessamine Journal for sharing this.

Dear readers and lovers of Greek, I want to share with you a limited-time opportunity. At the end of June CKI is host the first ever online weekend immersion workshop for Koine Greek taught by myself and Jordan Day. Currently we only have 3-4 spots left open. You can learn Greek online right from the comfort of your home or wherever you may happen to be at that moment. All you need is an internet connection and a webcam and you're good to go. Again, check out the flyer below. If you want to register, please click HERE . Availability is on a first come, first serve basis. Hope to see you there!

On the heels of yesterday's release of my fifth book,  ἡ ὁδός: The Path to Learning Greek , I am happy to announce today that the Kindle version is now available.  You can get it by clicking HERE .  You can get the print version by clicking HERE .  Also, you can now get the audio to read/listen along with  ἡ ὁδός by going to the GlossaHouse website HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page to the relevant purchase link.

Today I am pleased to announce the release of my latest book, co-authored with my friend Jordan Day, titled ἡ ὁδός: The Path To Learning Greek .  This book is an illustrated guide (all "in color"!) meant to help students on their journey toward learning and becoming fluent in ancient Koine Greek. It contains vocabulary terms that are immediately useful in daily life, a feature which helps ancient Greek come alive for learners. The illustrations are fun and the audio companion files (which can be purchased separately) also add the helpful dimension of sound; together these things engage a variety of senses, which assist students in internalizing the language more effectively. ἡ ὁδός:  The Path to Learning Greek can function as a textbook or supplement to any ancient Greek class, Koine or Classical.  You can see a sample below and get your copy on Amazon.com HERE or via one of Amazon's distributors HERE .  You can get the audio via the GlossaHouse websi...

Hello friends.  I was recently interviewed, along with several others, about some of the keys or "secrets" to learning a foreign language.  Of course, much more was said during the course of the interview but they extracted a nice little chunk that fit the article's theme.  You can check out the interview, which is titled "Expert Secrets for Learning Foreign Languages" HERE .

Hello readers, I just wanted to let you all know that the Kindle version of my latest book A Handbook of Ancient Greek Grammatical Terms is now available.  You can get it HERE .  If digital books are not your thing you can also pick up the printed version HERE or HERE .

Hello friends! I am pleased today to announce the release of my newest publication. The book is titled A Handbook of Ancient Greek Grammatical Terms: Greek-English and English-Greek . This work is part of the "AGROS" series that is being produced by GlossaHouse, which is an up-and-coming Greek language/linguistics publisher (website to be launched soon). The Handbook of Ancient Greek Grammatical Terms contains over 600 terms and is two-directional. Arranged in two parts, this means that you can search in the first part of the book by Greek terms and in the second part by English terms. Each entry contains ancient/primary sources where terms are attested. In addition, each entry also contains glosses and a brief note or example or explanation of what the grammatical term means or how it functions.  For anyone interested in Greek and/or English grammar, especially ancient Greek grammar, this book is for you.  The volume is 208pp. and is now on sale for $16.41. You ...